Mabua Firewood and Roads

[martcassidy]

hi all - we leave for Mabua on Friday. Does anyone know where the best place to get firewood is close to the gate. Also looking for any recent info on the conditions of the park in general and the roads.

Thanks

[PaulMark]

Just returned. Park has had a quite a bit of rain so is relatively green. Roads were fine, badly corrugated in parts but nothing too extreme.

[martcassidy]

Just returned. Park has had a quite a bit of rain so is relatively green. Roads were fine, badly corrugated in parts but nothing too extreme.

Thanks Paul - is the grass very high - i.e. too high for good game viewing? Any suggestions in terms of game - we've never been there so don't know what to expect other than what I have read.

[PaulMark]

The grass on the roads between the pans is very high but then most of the action takes place on the pans and potentially at your campsite! We had good luck getting to the waterholes very early (i.e. first light). If you are at one of the camps with water, Mpaya 1 and 2 and Lesholoago 2 then there is very good chance of having lions come to visit so be aware.

[ecw]

We were there 2 weeks ago, cheetah was spotted twice at Mpaya. We caught the lions early morning on Mpaya, but this was before we had the rain for 2 days. Go and look out for the Hyena family group at Monamodi, south east direction over the waterhole.

[martcassidy]

We were there 2 weeks ago, cheetah was spotted twice at Mpaya. We caught the lions early morning on Mpaya, but this was before we had the rain for 2 days. Go and look out for the Hyena family group at Monamodi, south east direction over the waterhole.

Thanks very much. Any advice on firewood??

[hollydog]

We entered via the Mabua gate last November, coming down from Hukuntsi. Although we had wood with us, we thought we would purchase a little more in Hukuntsi, but there was none to be found. We were told told we would have had to buy it in Kang.

Having said that, and reading numerous times that there was no wood available for purchase in Mabua, we were able to buy some at the gate. There was a sign for it at the gate entrance but the spot was empty. We asked, and they were more than happy to slip across the road to what I am guessing was the staff quarters and fetch us some. It was not cheap comparatively - P60 or R80 - but it was available. Not sure if this is the norm, but worth a shot if you are running short.